Forums » Elder Scrolls

Back To Topics

Deathbrand vs. heavy armor?

  • Drewmund
    • 9 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 1:11 PM EST

    Hey guys, I was just wondering what your thoughts were on the Deathbrand armor, particularly it's +100 armor enchantment. I reallocated all my heavy armor perk points into light armor to maximize it's efficiency once I realized it totally outclassed the nordic carved set I was wearing. It's other enchantments are geared heavily towards one-handed, rendering any other type of combat inefficient while wearing the armor. I'm just starting to wonder whether or not it's worth it in the long run. What are your impressions of the Deathbrand armor?

  • Nikolaj Poulsen
    • 88 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 1:53 PM EST

    I think the Deathbrand armor is unique in the sense that it's probably the only armor set that really caters to dual wielders (the one-handed enchantment only applies if you're dual wielding). I think it's cool, and it fits nicely into a specific playstyle.

  • Drewmund
    • 9 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 2:24 PM EST

    Ah, so the one-handed enchantment wouldn't work if I was using a sword and shield? 

  • Nikolaj Poulsen
    • 88 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 2:26 PM EST

    Not according to the description, although I haven't checked it out personally.

  • Shuuiketsu
    • 127 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 2:27 PM EST

    I like it, but not the helmet.
    I use light armor as a warrior, better stamina regen, less perk spending. And you can easily hit the armor cap with light armor too.
    If you're a board 'n sword type player then I suggest Deathbrand set.

  • Skyler
    • 131 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 3:05 PM EST

    The armor's enchantment is for dual wielding only if I remember correctly. I read up on the armor once when I started the quest. That's why there's two rare one-handed swords at the end of the quest.

    I personally don't like the look of the armor at all. I prefer just about any other armor. Though I like the Nordic Carved set but that's the only new set they added I liked.

  • Drewmund
    • 9 posts
     
    February 19, 2013 5:12 PM EST

    I agree, I like light armor for the stam regen and the low weight. I'm just not a huge fan of dual wielding. I've been taking advantage of Waking Dreams and respeccing like crazy, trying to find what kind of build I like best. The fact that Deathbrand surpasses heavy armor ratings throws me off though.

  • Shuuiketsu
    • 127 posts
     
    February 20, 2013 12:55 PM EST


    I actually love the Ancient Falmer Armor set because it looks pretty badass.
    When combined with Auriel's Shield and Dawnbreaker, that's a %100 lawful good look. I don't care about the armor rating as I don't get with much, only rarely. And it doesn't matter after 568 armor.

  • Drewmund
    • 9 posts
     
    February 20, 2013 2:31 PM EST

    Hmm, it is a rather badass look... I just really like the enchants on the Deathbrand set. Maybe when I get my enchanting up I'll buff up the Ancient Falmer set and use it. Do shields affect the perk that gives the bonus for all light armor?

  • Mitch
    • 5 posts
     
    February 21, 2013 1:31 PM EST

    Deathbrand is badass.  If you don't want to go all the way to Ebony crafting to make the Stalhrim armor, then its a nice unique set.  I'm not sure why they chose Scimitars for the weapons that go with the set.  Don't get me wrong, Scimitars are way underrated, but unique Stalhrim axes would have been epic.

    I'm sure I'll get berated for this, but I think they dropped the ball with Heavy Armor.  They should have made the armor cap 100-200 pts higher for heavy armor.  At the end of the day, there's no real reason to wear Heavy Armor, aside from style and an early high AR.  The only decent perk for Heavy Armor is Reflect blows.  Just my opinion.

    BTW, why the hell is Stalhrim crafting under Ebony?  My guess is that since the Advanced armor set falls under light armor, they wanted to balance it out.  But Advanced is level 50 at 3 perks, ebony is level 80 with 5 perks. Thats a lot of crafting to get 30 more levels.

  • Drewmund
    • 9 posts
     
    February 21, 2013 1:48 PM EST

    I agree, I'm actually using sword and board (yeah I know, kinda defeats the purpose of the glove enchants). And yeah, endgame light armor has way more advantages over heavy (although some of the heavy stuff looks BADASS). As for the crafting, I'd say they went with ebony simply because it has such a similar AR. The only reason I'm even pumping up my smithing is for dragon stuff, there's practically no other reason for light armor users to work on it.

  • lanep25
    • 377 posts
     
    February 21, 2013 2:39 PM EST

    I guess if you're not an enchanter then Deathbrand is the way to go. But if you are, well, there's no beating the dual enchantment perk, especially if you're using powerful Fortify Enchantment potions (potions I've created have gotten up to 47% increase). So then the real question is - do you prefer the Deathbrand bonus of 100 armor rating, or would you rather go with an armor you've created and improved to ridiculous levels and added your own special dual enchantments to it? I pick the latter if I have the skills available.

  • Drewmund
    • 9 posts
     
    February 21, 2013 3:06 PM EST

    Yeah, I'm currently using a dwarven bow/damage stamina combo to raise both my smithing and enchanting, with the ultimate goal of creating my own set of dragonscale.

  • lanep25
    • 377 posts
     
    February 21, 2013 6:18 PM EST

    Smelt those dwarven ingots and dig up that iron ore: 2 Dwarven + 1 Iron = Dwarven Bow. Talk to Hamal in the Markarth Dibellan Temple, she'll teach you to enchant, after you pay the price of course.